Tuesday, February 8, 2011

If Mayor Greg Fischer continues to take cues from President Mubarak in the undemocratic disposition of Whiskey Row, all you loyal Fischer supporters will likely be activated to storm an upcoming rally of preservationists on the backs of camels, armed with those little Louisville Slugger bats they've confiscated at the airport. This all could have been prevented.

Me:I have an opinion but it has nothing to do with the relatively recent ownership by Mr. Blue. Most of these buildings have been more or less empty since I was in my teens or 20s, which is to say for a hell of a long time. And the ones which were open back then - I can remember several - weren't in the best of shape even then. I recall a collapsing stairwell in one building in particular back in 1986. And the one on the far eastern end collapsed of its own accord a decade ago. Admittedly, those toward the west have done well.

I'm not happy about any compromise on the facade issue, of that I'll admit. But when the plans came out in 2007 for all the highrises set back away from the streets, I thought it was a great idea. My friend Michael Garton and I discussed this last night while waiting for Gil Reyes' play, Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead, to start at the Kentucky Center. We disagreed.

I wish there was to be more residential space, and particularly more affordable residential space in this project, or any project in the area. We have next to none of that. There's something worth fighting for.

But, comparing this mayor's one month and five days in office with the thirty year reign of President Mubarak is quite hyperbolic and frankly, silly. I expect better from you and your followers.

Deep in my heart, I'm a preservationist too. I remember my freshman year at college (or maybe I was a senior at Durrett) fighting the demolition of the old Will Sales Building, where the B&W Tower now stands at 4th and Liberty streets. I remembering touring with then-Alderman Allan Steinberg the old Savoy Theater on Jefferson Street and the Milner Hotel in the same block, hoping their facades could be worked into plans for the new convention center. We lost those battles and those buildings.

But using similar tactics, others succesfully incorporated the facade of the Compton or Clinton (or whatever it is - I know it starts with a C) Building into the new multi-storied Marriott at 3rd and Jefferson streets, providing construction jobs in the short run and hotel jobs for decades to follow.

Let's use a little logic here. We need to preserve the facades - the only real parts worth preserving. Work toward that end - I will join you. But we also need jobs. Here is an opportunity. Make your arguments using sensible language and reasonable ideas, not Slugger Battette wielding renegades on camelback. Don't expect anyone with any authority to help you in your crusade to take such comments with any degree of seriousness.

1 comment:

Jeff- I do agree that we need "more residential space, and particularly more affordable residential space." Ironically, I once commended Candidate Fischer, albeit in tweet, for making that same observation himself over a year ago. If there's anything Todd Blue has no experience in, it's developing affordable housing. His strengths and accomplishments, which do exist, will be championed another day, but one of them is DEFINITELY NOT developing affordable housing.

I do, however, very much appreciate you acknowledging my comparison, and have decided to give it a test run for all to see.

Thursday morning me, and I know my dog Boomer, and maybe a preservationist or even two (All are welcome) will have a little rally in front of Whiskey Row starting from 7:30-9 AM. We'll see how Mayor Fischer handles his response. I fully expect we'll be ignored by him, as is his custom. But if I'm trampled by camels, I told you so.

One last thing, I have a solution to this mess: Blue overpaid for these buildings when he bought them for $3.7 million in 2007. I propose the city borrow that figure from the water company and offer it up to Blue in cash to buy the buildings. If he says now, then we use imminent domain to purchase the property for a much lower figure in line with comparable sold properties IN THIS MARKET, and the city can re-develop the property ourselves to expand our publicly-owned convention and meeting space.

Personal

Single, male, bald, overweight, early 50s, seeking . . .
Oh wait, that's goes on the other website.
How about this - never married, liberal Democrat, opinionated but generally pleasant, member of the Episcopal Church. Graduate of Prestonia Elementary, Durrett High, and Spalding University; the first two now-closed Jefferson County Public Schools, the latter a very small liberal arts college in downtown Louisville affiliated with the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
My vocation and avocation is politics. My favorite pastime is driving the backroads of Kentucky and southern Indiana, visiting small towns, political hangouts, courthouses, churches, and cemeteries.
You are welcome to ride with me sometime.

The Jefferson Davis Monument

The tallest concrete obelisk in the United States, at Fairview, on the Todd - Christian county line

Stuart Perelmuter, American playwright

Moving on from the halls of Congress to the glitter of Hollywood

Benson Creek near Red Bridge

photo by Gene Burch of Frankfort

The seal of the former City of Louisville

Now seen mostly on T-shrits sold along Bardstown Road.

The flag of the former City of Louisville

Must Reading for any politician or public servant

Most politicans never read it. That's unfortunate.

A photo showing the original Clock Tower on City Hall

The original tower was built in 1873 and destroyed by fire in 1875. This photo belonging to the Filson Club is the only known photo of the original Clock Tower.

Cuban children in Shively with the Flag of Cuba

September, 1963. The statue has since been dismantled by the City of Shively and its whereabouts are unknown. I last saw it in 2004 or thereabouts.

The United States Supreme Court

The Court faces the east front of the United States Capitol

Crossing into Paradise along the WK Parkway

Actors Theater of Louisville

housed in the old Bank of Louisville building on West Main Street

This picture is from 1975, taken at the 32nd and Portland Avenue Loop.

On the left in orange is one of the old Louisville Transit Authority busses. This one is from Route 27, then as now following along Hill Street. The one on the right represents the new color scheme of Red and White for the Transit Authority of River City, or TARC. By the way, these are GMC models affectionately known as Fishbowls.

A map of Camp Zachary Taylor

Preston Street Road is along the bottom; Beargrass Creek to the top; Eastern Parkway on the left; Durrett Lane (approximately) on the right.

The home of my step great grandmother Maggie Church

She lived here for nearly 70 years. She is the mother of my grandfather Hockensmith's half-siblings, Aunt Mildred Smith of Clarksville, Indiana and Uncle Lee Roy Hockensmith of Paducah, Kentucky

Whatever happened to ?

Sanjaya Malakar

Jesus feeding the 5000. What a picnic.

From the United Methodist Church collection of Eularia Clark

LBJ signing one of the Civil Rights Bills of the 1960s.

Mr. Gayle Shields

Earth Science Teacher, War Veteran, Extraordinary Person

The Sallie Phillips Durrett Auditorium at Louisville Male High School

Male relocated in 1991 from its Brook and Breck campus to that of my high school alma mater, Sallie Phillips Durrett High School, at 4409 Preston Highway. It has changed a lot in 30 years.

See Rock City

See Seven States. I can not tell you the number of times I've stood on this overlook searching out South Park Hill in southern Jefferson County Kentucky, to no avail

The obelisk at 7th and Main

Commemorating Richard Chenoweth's fort in Louisville, 1780.

This is the log house, built by the Howard family in 1795.

This is the building in which was founded the predecessor of my college alma mater, Spalding University. Nazareth Academy was founded here by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in 1814.

The Louisville Times

The final edition was published February 14, 1987, very shortly after the Bingham's sold their empire

Lady Bird Johnson

Buried 07/15/2007 in the hill country near Stonewall, Texas, alongside her husband who was a great leader of the experiment in democracy we call America

The old silos, an old Prestonia business.

The Oehrle silos were taken down a few years ago.

Parkway Field in the 1970s.

Note the ad on the wall - Parkmoor Bowling Lanes was a bowling alley on 3rd Street between the two viaducts. It had a perma-stone facade and had been rebuilt twice due to fires before finally being torn down. Like the old Parkway Field, it is now one of U of L's parking lots.

My grandfather"s favorite piece of music

"We're the Seabess of the Navy, We can Build and we can Fight! And we'll pave the way to Victory, and guard it Day and Night! And we promise to remember, the Seventh of December. We're the Seabees of the Navy, the Bees of the Seven Seas!